Shocker! DeRusha wins National Media Award
I’m really excited to share these pictures with you, from an award that I’m really proud to have earned for WCCO. I’ve blogged before about my involvement with the Minnesota Chapter of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, FCCLA. It’s an incredible group that works with high school students to empower them to make positive live decisions. I’ve moderated a couple panels they’ve done on school violence, and getting kids to stand up for people who are being bullied.
For me, it’s empowering to talk with kids who are so dedicated to making their communities a better place to live. It’s hard to be bullied. I think it might be harder to stand-up to a bully picking on someone else. FCCLA back in the day was the Future Homemakers of America, but now their mission is much broader, and there are young men and women involved.
At any rate, because of my involvement with the group, they nominated me and WCCO-TV for their National Outstanding Media Award. And as you can see: 
We got it. That’s Katie Litchblau, the Minnesota President-Elect for FCCLA, presenting me with the national award in front of several thousand high school kids from all around the country. They came to Minnesota for a national meeting, and had quite the rockin’ presentation at the Convention Center.
Here I am with the entire group of state officers. They come from Goodhue, Deer River, Tyler, Herman, Fulda and Kasson, Minn. Great kids and a great organization. I’m thrilled to be honored by them. The giant plaque sits on my desk, and sometimes you can see it in the background of our newsroom camera shot. Look closely. 
It’s cool to win awards for my professional work— but even more gratifying to win awards for the stuff I quietly do off-the-air. It’s one of the benefits of being on TV: getting to use the “celebrity” factor (however small it is in my case) to help worthy causes.